There’s no better pastime than testing out the coolest new skincare/makeup/hair trends and snazzy innovations in beauty tech from the comfort of your own home. That said, there’s nothing more frustrating than spending upwards of £100 on a new at-home facial system or snazzy pair of hair straighteners, only to find out they don’t *actually* work.
Enter GLAMOUR Tries: the weekly Instagram series which sees GLAMOUR editors do all of the time-consuming (and expensive) work for you.
Yep, we’ve been busy trying out all of the wacky and wonderful beauty crazes to take the internet (read: TikTok) by storm – from Dyson’s Supersonic Flyaway Attachment (the smoothing hair tool of dreams) to Dr. Harris’ Anti-Wrinkle Sleep Mask and Dr. Jart+’s Cryo Rubber So Cool Duo face masks. These are the products every influencer/gen-Z beauty slueth/beauty editor is talking about on the internet – but that you want to be sure about before parting with your money.
Thanks to GLAMOUR Tries, you won’t need to waste your hard-earned pennies on testing these innovations yourself. We’re getting in their first, giving you the lowdown and making sure you invest in products that genuinely work. Like what you see? You can shop all of the products seen on GLAMOUR tries in previous weeks down below. Race ya?
On GLAMOUR Tries this week, Social Media Assistant Luca Wetherby-Matthews put a viral eyeshadow hack to the test. You’ve most likely seen it all over your Instagram feed and on TikTok, but it’s where you apply eyeshadow to the eyelid in stripes (from dark to light starting on the outer corner) and then blend it all together to create the perfect smokey eye in seconds.
To demonstrate the trick, Luca uses the Natasha Denona Zendo palette. “This is an insanely beautiful palette, I mean look at it. Look at it! This hack is basically eyeshadow for dummies and I am a dummy when it comes to that, I really hate doing eyeshadow so I’m hoping this will fix my problems for the next time I go out.”
Luca begins applying the first colour – a deep reddish brown – to the outer corner of her eyelid and then continues with four other shades in a row of stripes, gradually getting lighter as she goes. “Ok so I’ve put them all on, and now we’re going to blend it and see what happens.”
Using a fluffy eye brush, Luca blends all five colours together to create a softer and more seamless finish where the stripes are no longer visible. “From a distance it’s actually ok,” she says. “Would I say it’s blended well? No. Would I say that you can see the different colours anymore, no. I know it’s not the eyeshadow because that is chefs kiss, but it’s just not giving me what I thought it was going to give.”
After finishing the other eye, Luca gives her final verdict: “I kind of take it all back. I actually really like it. If you’re into really bold eyeshadow moments then this probably isn’t for you because it kind of makes it look all one colour, but I am a fan. I love it. I would wear this out if I had plans.”
Would you give the eyeshadow hack or Natasha Denona’s Zendo palette a go? Have you already tried it? Let us know your thoughts over on Instagram @glamouruk.
For more from GLAMOUR UK’s Associate Commerce Writer Georgia Trodd, follow her on Instagram @georgiatrodd.